Contest Stocks: Earnings Rule Best And Worst

Earnings are dominating the stocks you're picking--from the best to the worst performing. Playtex turned up in the best performers on news the company was buying Tike Hut Holding. Weak earnings hurt Spansion and Power-One. The most active and widely held remain pretty much the same, but Impac Mortgage makes an appearance in the most active.

Best performing trades by % gain from Wednesday's close to Thursday's close: Labor Ready : If you bought on Wednesday at $18.20 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $21.63, the contestant gained 18.85% on the trade.The company exceeded low Q1 expectations and authorized a $100M buyback. Valmont Industries : If you bought on Wednesday at $57.31 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $63.97, the contestant gained 11.62% on the trade.The company exceeded Q1 expectations and closed a new 52-wk high. James Hardie Industries : If you bought on Wednesday at $35.21 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $38.84, the contestant gained 10.31% on the trade. James Hardie up on speculation that Owens Corning might be interested in buying it. Playtex Products : If you bought on Wednesday at $13.53 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $14.92, the contestant gained 10.27% on the trade. Playtex agreed to buy Tiki Hut Holding, the owner or Hawaiian Tropic sun care products for $83M. Impac Mortgage : If you bought on Wednesday at $4.56 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $5.01, the contestant gained 9.87% on the trade.

Worst performing trades by % loss from Wednesday's close to Thursday's close: Spansion : If you bought on Wednesday at $12.49 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $10, the contestant lost 19.94% on the trade. Weak earnings and a wider than expected loss.Power-One : If you bought on Wednesday at $5.48 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $4.77, the contestant lost 12.96% on the trade. The company warned that its first-quarter revenue will be below guidance, and it will report a net loss.Imation : If you bought on Wednesday at $41.29 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $36.20, the contestant lost 12.33% on the trade. Fell on price erosion in the flash-memory market which hurt first-quarter results.Trina Solar : If you bought on Wednesday at $63.68 and held/sold on Thursday with a close of $56.02, the contestant lost 12.03% on the trade. One of the Chinese ADRs impacted by fears that the red-hot growth in China will force the government to cool the economy.

Most actives as of the close on 4/19: Revlon CMGIConexant VonageCrystallex International Fremont GeneralTechnical Olympic USA Sirius Satellite Radio Impac Mortgage Charter Communication

Widely helds as of the close on 4/19:CMGI: 3,331,627,065 shares held, down from Wednesday. Revlon: 2,706,026,179 shares held, up from Wednesday. Conexant: 2,091,527,664 shares held, up from Wednesday.Sirius: 1,573,355,631 shares held, up from Wednesday.Crystallex International: 1,380,144,565 shares held, down from Wednesday.Vonage: 1,208,881,924 shares held, up from Wednesday.